Here’re the key points and highlights of the Fujinon deck, as part of the DCS (Digital Cinema Society) discussion, about the “Focus On Cine Lenses From the Buyer’s POV”. The presentation demonstrates the Premista zooms which are Fujinon’s flagships, what has changed in lens metadata, and a bit about the crazy glass- SK35-700mm for cinematic broadcasting.
DCS 2021 presentation: Focus On Cine Lenses From the Buyer’s POV
The DCS (Digital Cinema Society) once again has hosted one of the most fascinating discussions about cinema lenses. As stated by the DCS: “As is our tradition, the main ‘focus’ of the event is to explore the market of available cine lenses from the buyer’s point of view”. We, at Y.M.Cinema Magazine, have meticulously watched the presentations in order to serve you the key points and highlights which you can find them below. However, the entire credit belongs to the DCS. Read our first chapter (ZEISS) here, the second chapter (Angenieux) here, the third chapter (ARRI) here, and the fourth chapter (Cooke) here.
About the DCS: The Digital Cinema Society, which has founded by cinematographer Jim Mathers, is a nonprofit educational cooperative dedicated to the industry’s informed integration of new technology. Academy Award winners to aspiring Filmmakers, Educators, and Students are joined by artists from every production and post discipline including dozens of ASC Cinematographers, ACE Editors, leading Technologists, and top management from Manufacturers, Studios, Exhibitors, and Networks. The Society’s purpose is not to advocate for digital technology but to objectively examine all media, solutions, services, and technologies without favoring any one brand, service, or format over another.
Fujinon
In this presentation, Stosh Durbacz from Fujifilm Optical Devices (Fujinon’s brand of cinema lenses), gives us some insights on their lenses at the Digital Cinema Society’s 2021 Lens event. Explore the presentation below:
The Premista: Cine-zooms with a prime quality
Stosh starts the presentation by talking about the Premista brand. Indeed, the Premista glass is the optical cine flagship of Fujinon. The main characteristic of the three Premista zoom lenses is consistency regarding their structure, weight, and balance. For instance, the sizes of the 28-100mm and 80-250mm are the same. The wider 19-45mm is a bit smaller. Furthermore, those lenses were developed to cover large sensors, to offer solid zoom range, and without compromising the cinematic image quality. The goal was to allow the privilege of zoom lenses with the quality of primes. According to Stosh, these zooms cut very well with other high-end cinema primes from other manufacturers. Actually, we wrote about the first film shot on the Premista. (Make sure to read the article: The First Film Shot on Fujinon Premista to be Premiered at Cine Gear).
Lens meta-data development
Stosh elaborates on the development of lens-metadata technologies. A very intriguing example is demonstrated in the deck, by showing how lens metadata was pulled off back in 2002. Explore the slide below which shows the Fujinon Lens Meta Data Box from 2002 that has been utilized in Star Wars – Revenge of the Sith. Luckily, that has been modernized to an advanced apparatus that communicates via the camera mount, by utilizing the Cooke/i and Zeiss eXtended Data recording technologies. The methodology was amplified lately on virtual productions which have been enhanced in the era of COVID.
Servo Drive -by Chrosziel
The Premista lenses are also able to operate via a dedicated servo unit developed by Chrosziel. The Servo Unit can fit all Premista lenses, and it’s dedicated to cinematic multicam, remote operation, and ENG applications. The system facilitates the operation of the Premista when shooting handheld, which appears to be very common in modern cinema productions, and not just for broadcasting purposes.
Fujinon SK35-700mm
Stosh also talks about a very fascinating lens, which is the Fujinon SK35-700mm F2.8-4.8. This lens is a native PL-mount cinema broadcast zoom that was invented to bring the ‘Cinematic-Look’ to sports and entertainment live productions. We wrote about this lens being debuted at a special event held by Dynamic Rentals and Fujinon (Read: Meet the Fujinon SK35-700mm PL: A 27Kg Lens for Cinematic Broadcasting). The image circle was designed for Super 35 sensors, but it can cover large formats as well. It has a huge front element of 220mm.
According to Stosh, this lens has been pretty busy recently, utilized by many sports, entertainment, and live events, when the directors were eager to get that cinematic look combined with broadcast capabilities. It appears that the SK35-700mm has been mainly paired with the Sony VENICE (and the ARRI AMIRA – of course). Here’re some examples of current impelemetiaions:
Product List
Here’re the products mentioned in the article, and the links to purchase them from authorized dealers.
- Fujinon Premista28-100mm T2.9 Large-Format Cine Lens
- Fujinon Premista80-250mm T2.9-3.5 Large-Format Zoom Lens
- Fujinon Premista 19-45mm T2.9 Large-Format Cine Lens
